Arasta

Arasta is a gigantic humanoid spider from the plane of Theros.

History

Arasta was originally a beloved dryad under Nylea's care, who treated her as a sister. She was warped into a monstrous spider creature by the envious god Phenax. According to him, Nylea's interest in Arasta was due to beauty rather than true kinship. Horrified by the unfamiliar creature, Nylea drove Arasta away. Resentful of her treatment by the gods, Arasta made her home in the gnarled olive tree Enorasi, deep within the Nessian Wood. Pained by the loss of her companion, it is said that Nylea sends her champions to learn Phenax's secret to undo his curse of monstrous immortality.

In her lair in Enorasi, Arasta is served by countless arachnids who act as her spies and enforcers, and rarely, her own armor. The tree, planted by Klothys, is said to grant visions of the future to those who eat its fruit and are found worthy by the god, but drives those who are found unworthy to madness. Arasta's webs, spun from her own hair, are said to reach from Nyx to the mortal world and even into the Underworld, and are occasionally sought out by grieving souls searching for lost loved ones.

In-game references

Inspiration

• Arasta's character was inspired by the Greek mythological Arachne, a weaver who was transformed into a spider by Athena. In both characters, the transformation is seen as the result of the god's anger.
• The same Greek myth was referenced in Renowned Weaver.

Gallery

• 
  Arasta as a WizKids miniature

References